Is Blood Thicker Than Water?
by Reneey Umbra
Summary: Lyn drags Reneey to the midnight release of Vampire Knight volume 7, but what happens when something goes awry and Reneey wakes up in a different place with a very different Lyn?
1. What You See and What You Get

_"So taste it and we'll never be alone_

_I'll take the first bite, yeah, I am ghost_

_Say good night to you, my darling, my darling"_

-- Pretty People Never Lie Vampires Never Really Die by I Am Ghost

-----

**1. What You See and What You Get**

Reneey groaned as she was pulled by Lyn to the bookstore on August 7th. "Oh come on, Lyn! I already read the volume!" she whined.

"Yeah, but that was the directly-translated, somewhat illegal English version of the Japanese stuff you get online," Lyn said, not letting go of her friend's arm and continuing to drag her through the local Books-A-Million. "This is the official English volume! There'll be somewhat different words and stuff!"

Reneey rolled her eyes. "But the manga online directly subs the Japanese words into the English, not the shitty dubbed you get like Naruto!"

"You think my OCD cares? I have 6 volumes, therefore I must buy the 7th. It's the curse of the continued reading of a series. Although in this case it's good because it's a good series, but you get my freaking point."

Reneey groaned all the way to the manga aisle. "Fine! But after you get volume 7, we're going to FYE so I can get the soul candy and the Zero wallpaper!"

"If you have the money for it, sure. I'm saving the rest of my money for the Death Note box set, so you're not getting it." Lyn paused and shook her head. "Dang, I'm far too obsessed with random mangas."

"Dude, that soul candy costs one dollar and the wallpaper only costs five dollars," Reneey said with a grin. "And don't worry, at home I have bookshelves of Vampire Knight, Yu Yu Hakusho, Inuyasha, and a hell of a lot of Shonen Jump."

"Yeah, all mixed up and with volumes missing in between," Lyn said, rolling her eyes. "I'm OCD durnit! They need to be nicely laid out, in order, and all of them there. Hence the box set! ... Anyway, I don't care if you have them, I want them."

"I have Inuyasha volumes one through six," Reneey muttered as she pouted and looked at the floor.

"And now I shall have Vampire Knight volumes one through seven!" Lyn announced as she snatched a copy over the head of a much shorter Vampire Knight fangirl who was standing in front of the manga rack. Then she grinned and turned it around so Reneey could see the cover and twirl it around in a singsong-type mannerism. "Maybe being five nine isn't such a horrible thing all the time, after all."

Reneey blinked and looked at the Vampire Knight cover that was in Lyn's hand, then took her own hand and covered Yuki and Kaname. "There! Now it's Zero and only Zero!" Reneey announced with a triumphant grin.

Lyn rolled her eyes and moved her hand to cover Zero too. "And now there's nobody on it at all!" She took on a sarcastically sad tone and muttered, "Crap, now I guess we have to find another one..."

Before Reneey could roll her eyes or Lyn could make another sarcastic comment, something happened. It was like one of those movies where everything spings and you feel like you're on a roller coaster ride about to barf. Your life flashes in front of your eyes, your head starts to get so dizzy that you can't even comprehend two plus two, your body feels like mush, and everything turns cold, freezing cold. Then a blast of light appeared coming from the Vampire Knight manga, a light so bright that it could outmatch the sun.

What was minutes seemed like hours until the two girls awoke in the middle of a snow scene. Reneey blinked as she slowly got to her knees. She noticed almost immediately that her outfit was different. Instead of wearing tripp pants and a black shirt, she was wearing black pants with a red shirt that had a symbol on the back shaped like a diamond cut in half with one side white and the other side black.

"Huh?" Reneey asked, feeling like she was drunk when she really wasn't. "Lyn? Lynni? Ya alright? Where the fuck are we?"

The girl next to Reneey raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

Lyn wasn't wearing the jeans and white shirt she had had on before; no, she was wearing shorts that were ripped in several paces and a long-sleeved white shirt that looked like it had been bought from some old store underground. Her hair was longer and wavier, her eyes red and silver instead of green. Bruises and cuts smothered her body and on her ankle was an anklet with a black-and-blue diamond, and right underneath that was a mark like a rose that looked like it had been burned onto her skin.

Reneey blinked. "Damn, what the fuck happened to you?"

Lyn's eyes might be differently colored now but they still had the same suspicious look when she narrowed them and growled, "Who are you to ask questions? Who are you at all?"

Reneey's mouth dropped open. "Wait, are you saying that you don't know me at all?"

"You talk like I'm supposed to," Lyn went on suspiciously. "Where did you come from anyway? You weren't here before, just some old man." She growled and brushed her fingertips over a gash on her other hand. "Last time I underestimate a weakling like that."

Reneey looked down, blinking. Did Lyn really not remember her? Did the one person who cared for her not remember her at all? Was she really alone again?

The girl blinked away her tears and shook her head. _Now's not the time to be crying like you're some pitiful fool._ Then she looked back at Lyn and said, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you_." Then again, maybe it's a good thing; maybe this way she won't know the pain her family caused her... but then again, it could also be a bad thing because of that..._

"I think I'll decide that," Lyn countered, seeming to take no pity on the girl's tears, or at least not showing it if she did. "Tell me who you are and where you came from or I'll have to assume you're a threat and act accordingly."

"I'm Reneey Umbra and I'm from Uzbekistan. I'm not a threat... well, to anyone but bugs," Reneey said, grinning a little.

"Uzbekistan," Lyn repeated, still in a toneless, evaluative voice. "Then why are you here?"

Reneey said firmly, "Running away from home; and what about you?"

Lyn scoffed and stood up to look around and decide her next course of action, seeming to have decided this girl posed no immediate threat, at least. "That requires a home from which to run away; I have none. But you should get up and keep running if you know what's best for you."

"I don't want to ever go back home," Reneey said quietly. "But you're hurt; let me stay with you." _Whether you know me or not, I'm still your best friend and you're still mine. I'll be damned if I leave you alone._

Lyn chuckled darkly, seeming to find some secret humor in that. "Trust me, girl, I'm not the one in danger here."

Reneey was never the patient one; whatever came first into her mind, she did, whether it was stupid or not. And that was the basic idea when she said, "I'll tell you how I know you if I can stay with you."

The tension that had ebbed away was back in a flash as Lyn tensed and her eyes narrowed dangerously all over again. But she kept her voice perfectly level as she said, "You said you were running away from home in Uzbekistan."

"Yeah, but that's only half," Reneey said with a sigh. "You're not going to believe this, but we're best friends. You're like a mother-slash-older sister to me and I'm like your little sister-slash-daughter. We met about three years ago. I think we're in another dimension... because before, we were at the bookstore looking at Vampire Knight manga, and well, now we're here."

Judging by the skeptical look on her face, Lyn was probably about to write all of this off as this girl being some insane asylum escapee and move on, right until the end of Reneey's little speech when she suddenly looked alarmed again. "Tell me something about me, then," she said slowly, taking a couple of careful steps forward. "If you claim to know me then prove it or leave now before I change my mind about treating you as a threat."

"You're nice and caring, but that doesn't stop you from getting pissed off and killing anything or anybody that hurts you or your friends. You feel pain inside of you every day but hide it with a smile. You may seem cold and aloof but really you care for others and don't want them to get hurt... with the exception of certain fuckers."

Lyn was silent for a long moment, and then she shook her head. "Nice try, but you're wrong. I don't have friends. I have no reason to smile for anyone else. And I don't feel anything anymore."

Reneey shook her head. "That's how you are from our world." She then pulled out her cell phone and brought up a picture of her and Lyn cosplaying at an anime convention.

Before Lyn could raise an eyebrow and think of a way to explain that away too, someone or something jumped from the trees and landed in front of the girls. The creature had gray skin and red, piercing eyes.

"Hm, fresh meat!" The creature cackled, but stopped at once when he saw Reneey's clothing. "Oh? An Umbra? Your family killed mine, but now I shall kill you!"

The vampire lunged at Reneey, managing to slice her shoulder open before she lost her balance and fell into the snow, her blood staining the pure silver ground. But as Lyn drew back with her eyes narrowed at the creature and prepared for a strike of her own, Reneey's fingers touched Lyn's anklet, and suddenly something snapped. Reneey's eyes went yellow and red with bloodlust, her nails grew longer, and she lunged at the vampire with inhuman ferocity and tore him to shreds.

Lyn could tell that this girl wasn't in her right mind, but exactly what was going on she wasn't sure of. Actually, there were only two things she knew for sure right now; one, this girl wasn't just a girl but a hunter; and two, she was very, very dangerous. Something about whatever was happening froze her in place though and she didn't move until Reneey turned again after the vampire was dead.

Still in her crazed state, she whispered, "Vampire... must kill..."

On her arm, there appeared a diamond that glowed brightly.

"I'm not level E, girl," Lyn said warningly as she took a step backward. "I can still think. I don't want to hurt you but I won't let you kill me either. Now back off before one of us does something we'll regret."

But Reneey showed no sign of backing off, just took a step closer still with that strange look in her eyes.

It had all happened in a flash, the rogue vampire attacking, Reneey snapping, and suddenly eight vampires appeared, circling around Reneey and Lyn.

"Kaname-sama!" one of the vampires whose name was Ruka yelled. "Look at the black-haired girl!"

Kaname's eyes went wide just for a bit. A vampire hunter, but not just an ordinary one -- one out of the Umbra family.

Ichijo sighed ashe walked by reading his manga. "What exactly are we here -- ag!" What he didn't see was (-coughduetohimreadingmangacough-) was the terrain in front of him, thus he slipped on a rock and crashed into Reneey, which made her fall and hit her head on the ground. As she fell unconscious, her eyes faded back to their dark brown and her nails went back to normal.

"Oh? Heh... sorry there, lady," Ichijo sweatdropped.

Ruka slapped her forehead. "Ugh! IGHIJO!"

Lyn didn't know who to glare at, so she compensated by standing very still and letting her eyes roam slowly around the half of the circle she could see. "Who the heck are you people and what in God's name is going on here?"

Kaname looked at Lyn and raised an eyebrow. "Hm, you're a vampire too? I'm Kaname, and these are Ruka, Ichijo, Akatsuki, Hanabusa, Senri, Rima, and Serian. We're from Cross Academy, the school for vampires and humans."

Hanabusa smirked and went over to Lyn. "My my, hello there. You seem to be bruised up, let me heal you."

Lyn's gaze only hardened as he came closer, even warier now than when Reneey had appeared out of nowhere and claimed to know her. "Or you could back off before you're the one who needs healing. I've had quite enough surprises today, thanks."

Hanabusa's smirk only broadened. "Ooh, a fiesty one."

Kaname seemed to ignore this and said, "You know, being alone here is dangerous. You could come with us to the academy -- you'd be much safer."

"At a school?" Lyn smirked and cast another suspicious glance around the circle of vampires. "Maybe you haven't noticed this yet but large groups of people don't exactly put me at ease."

"No, you see, this school is divided into two parts -- the day class, which are humans, and the night class, which are vampires. The headmaster trains us to control our thirst."

Lyn raised an eyebrow. "Then your headmaster has high hopes indeed, or else a very dangerous hobby."

"Hey, Kaname, what do we do about her?" Ichijo asked as he picked up the unconscious form of Reneey.

"We'll take her in," Kaname answered.

"What!?" Ruka snapped. "She's a hunter!"

"But she's human and she's hurt," Kaname pointed out. "If need be, we'll bind her."

Ichijo shrugged and merely said, "Whatever."

"Let me carry her," Lyn said abruptly. She didn't know why, but for some reason she felt protective of this girl. It didn't make sense, but it was a feeling deeper than just a hunch, and she didn't trust any of these vampires yet, regardless of whatever claims they made about learning to control their thirst.

"Are you crazy!? She could have killed --"

Lyn interrupted Senri this time: "Let. Me. Carry her." Her voice was more lethal now, more dangerous. Ichijo looked uncertainly at Kaname, who nodded, so Ichijo gave Reneey to Lyn.

"I will go with you to this school of yours for now," Lyn said, forcing her voice back to normal levels. "But only for now. Reneey and I... have things to discuss when she wakes up. Then I will be on my way."


	2. The Dead Stay Dead, Right?

A/N: Lyn: Yeah, sorry people, I accidentally left out a couple of paragraphs in copy/pasting this stuff from AIM... -sweatdrop- But it's fixed! ... And because I'm OCD that way I fixed a few typos in the first chapter too. -lol- Sorry. It was annoying me. But that gets you better story quality so why are you complaining durnit!?

Lysane: Um... they aren't complaining...

Lyn: ... Shut up, Lysane.

**2. The Dead Stay Dead... Right?**

As they walked, Reneey slowly opened her eyes only to meet with the front of Lyn's shirt. She whimpered a little and closed her eyes because of the shoulder wound still being open. This was also tough for Lyn though; with being so close to blood, she had to use all of her strength to keep from attacking Reneey.

Akatsuki saw this and whispered to her, "Don't worry, if you lose control we'll be here to stop you."

Reneey hissed as his hand accidentally landed on her shoulder wound, and Lyn sent him a death glare that could give the devil a run for his money. "Yeah, you're helping, all right," she growled in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "How would I ever get by without you?"

Akatsuki sweatdropped and moved his hand away. "I'm sorry," he said and backed away slowly.

Reneey frowned. "Lyn, if it's too much, I can walk..." Of course, this was despite the fact that she had twisted her ankle when she fell down.

Lyn scoffed and muttered, "You think I'm gonna let you kill yourself and get off the hook that easily? You've got some explaining to do and you're gonna freaking explain before you get rid of me."

Reneey blinked. "Get rid of you? What do you mean?"

"Kaname-sama," Ruka whispered to Kaname, "why are we taking in a hunter? And especially one from the Umbra family! They're the worst of the worst!"

"I don't think she'll pose a threat to us yet," Kaname said as he simply kept on walking.

Ruka twitched and became angry. "You're putting other vampires at risk!"

"You're putting yourself at risk if you don't freaking shut up," Lyn snapped over her shoulder. "Are you a complete moron or can you not see she doesn't even know what happened?"

"You don't call me a moron!" Ruka yelled back at Lyn.

"Oh, I'm sorry, is 'imbecile' any better?" Lyn asked with a sickly sweet smile.

Ruka growled, and Seiren quickly leaped to Kaname's defense. "Ruka! You have no right to yell at Kaname like that! He is above you and therefore deserves respect!"

Reneey sighed. "Okay, what the fuck happened!?"

Aido blinked. "You mean you don't remember, kiddo?"

"I'M NOT A FUCKING KIDDO YOU MOTHER FUCKING GODDAMN VAMPIRE!"

"Reason number one hundred forty-nine why I cannot stand groups," Lyn muttered, now wearing the expression of someone with a very severe headache.

Reneey sighed. "Lyn? Can you tell me what happened?"

"You're a vampire hunter," Aido said simply.

"... Huh?"

Lyn compiled a one-sentence recap of what had happened to better clarify: "You went spastic, killed that level E, threatened to kill me, and got knocked out by some blond guy who tripped while reading manga." She paused, then shook her head. "That sounds even more confusing when you just out and say it, doesn't it?"

_Reading a manga inside a manga and we got pulled in here while buying a manga... how ironic..._ Reneey shook her head. "Doesn't matter; but I'm sorry, I didn't mean to threaten to kill you..."

Lyn laughed, but it wasn't like when she had laughed when Reneey knew her before; it was more bitter now, like the kind of laugh she had always had when something bad but ironic happened. "Please. Like I haven't been threatened by many more frightening than you."

---

When they reached Cross Academy, it was the dead of night, when the Day Class students were sleeping and the Night Class students had already gone back to their dorms after class.

"Hm," Headmaster Kaien murmured as he looked at the two girls in his classroom, then down at the anklet that Lyn was wearing. "Lyndotia... you seem so... familiar..."

"I highly doubt that," Lyn said simply, feeling no real need to contribute to this conversation. Her only interest in being here was seeing that Reneey was cared for, so she really didn't care whether some human who was foolish enough to believe a bunch of teenage vampires could control themselves thought she looked familiar.

Kaien reached down and tried to take off the anklet, but it shocked him instead. "Hm, now I see," he said, standing up and grinning. "I'll get you your night class uniform and a day class uniform for your friend!"

One thing went inside Reneey's mind, and that was Zero.

"Whoa, hold on," Lyn interrupted quickly, feeling it was best to set this man straight before he went off the deep end... though, judging by his appearance, it might be a few years too late for that. "I'm _not_ staying here."

Kaien pouted. "But why not? You won't be alone and you'll be trained so you can control your thirst!"

"You just named one of the reasons," Lyn said darkly. "Groups and I do not get along."

"But you don't have to be in groups! You could be a loner or you could help out the two students that keep the night and day class from meeting each other!"

Lyn sighed heavily. "Look, I already have a headache and no desire to argue, so let me make this clear: I am here because I need to speak with Reneey when she has recovered. That's it. She can stay if she wants to; frankly, I don't care. But I'm not."

"Oh, but you have to! You see, that anklet on you is from the Umbra family. They are used to trap vampires and send them to other dimensions, apparently until something triggers it and they are sent back here. Obviously you have no memories of whatever happened in that other dimension, but the only way to take it off is if the person who made it removes it!"

Lyn's right eyebrow arched. "Umbra?" She shot a glance at Reneey. "You?"

"Hey, I don't remember this shit at all," Reneey said, grumbling. "Don't look at me."

"Lovely," Lyn grumbled, rolling her eyes. "You remember nothing and I remember nothing -- together we're just a great big blob of nothingness."

"Besides, Lyndotia," Kaien said, looking at her carefully. "What you think you saw years ago isn't what really happened. Zero is here."

If there had been any color in Lyn's face it would have drained at that moment. For a second she thought she might fall over, so instead she took a step backward to steady herself. "What... What are you talking about?"

"Zero Kiryu is here," Kaien repeated. "He's alive, Lyndotia... but he was bitten by a pureblood vampire, like you were."

"Wait, are you and Zero family?" Reneey asked, surprised.

Lyn ignored Reneey's question and continued to stare down Kaien as if she could prove whether he was telling the truth or not by glaring at him long enough. "You're lying," she accused quietly, but her voice continued to climb in volume until it was almost a yell by the time she finished speaking: "She only left me alive by accident. Because Zero distracted her and told me to run and I was little and a fool and thought if I listened to him it would be okay, but it wasn't and they're dead and you're lying!"

"I'm not lying," Kaien said simply. "He's here, Lyndotia, and if you want I could bring him here... but he gets cranky when he doesn't get his sleep..."

Lyn glared. "Vampires are nocturnal. It's very difficult to sleep at night. It would be like you trying to sleep with the sun in your eyes."

"Just stay for the night and you'll see for yourself," Kaien said, smirking confidently.

"Fine," Lyn hissed darkly. "It's only three hours until sun-up. But if you're lying to keep me here, you've made a mistake."

Kaien nodded and turned to Reneey. "So you have no idea who or what your family is?"

Reneey shook her head.

Kaien sighed. "You are from the Umbra family, a group of vampire hunters. One of the best... They specialize in dominating vampire powers and leaving them defenseless. Unfortunately, they are also cold-blooded murderers."

"Lyn said that I snapped..."

Kaien blinked and looked at Lyn with raised eyebrows.

"There was a level E," Lyn informed him, back to her former matter-of-face tone and style again as if nothing had happened. "I don't know where it came from but it was after her. It gave her that wound and knocked her back, I moved in front of her, and the next thing I knew, her eyes turned yellow and red and she was ripping it apart. Then she threatened to kill me, your students showed up, and one of them who didn't seem to be paying much attention tripped because he was busy reading a manga and knocked her out. I brought her back here, and she woke up on the way, but she was normal again."

Kaien looked down at Lyn's anklet. "Reneey, touch that."

"What? Why?" Reneey blinked.

"Just touch it," Kaien instructed, then he looked at Lyn with an expression in his eyes that said 'get ready.'

Reneey leaned over and her ingers brushed against the anklet. Suddenly her eyes changed to yellow and red and she went to rip Lyn to shreds but Kaien quickly leapt up, grabbed her bad shoulder, and pulled her back. Reneey howled in pain and tried to get away, but fo some reason she just couldn't kill the human.

Kaien grunted as he got a few scratches anyway. "Lyndotia! Quickly, in my desk there's a pendant, put some of your blood on the middle and then press the pendant against Reneey's ankle!"

Lyn was about to ask what the heck he was on, but then Reneey managed to get away from his grip and lunged at Lyn, leaving three scratches on her cheek before once again getting caught by the headmaster.

"You better know what you're doing!" Lyn threatened as she jerked the drawer open and located a pendant on a silver chain somewhere in the masses of paper. She didn't bother finding something to slice her finger on, just brushed the pendant across one of the bleeding wounds on her face and dove for Reneey's ankle, trying to avoid any further injuries as she did.

Reneey hissed as she bit Kaien's hand and tackled Lyn to the ground, scratching her neck and managing to dislocate her shoulder before being pulled off and again held back by Kaien.

"Now, Lyndotia!"

The minute the pendant touched her ankle, Reneey let out a painful scream and a whimpering howl as it burned onto her skin. It was a painful process, yelps and whimpers escaping her lips until they subsided into a low, pained mewl.

"What the heck did you do to her?" Lyn demanded, not sure whether to watch Reneey in pity or glare at Kaien, so she settled for trying to shift her shoulder back into its socket.

"That pendant on Reneey's ankle should keep her in check if she ever touches your anklet, but you have to give three droplets of blood on her pendant every day," Kaien said with a sigh as she calmed down.

Soon Reneey was on her knees with her hand over her ankle acting like some abused kitten. She was still in her crazed state, just not as murderous.

"It's a painful process, especially to humans, because they're weaker than vampires."

Lyn let out an involuntary hiss as her shoulder slid back into place, then took a few deep breaths and shook her hair back out of her eyes before looking down at Reneey again. "Is it going to do that to her every day?" she asked slowly. "Wouldn't it be simpler for me to just leave?"

Kaien shook his head. "No, not every day. Just the first couple of days, but then it would never hurt her again."

Reneey smelled the vampire near her, and her hand shot up and latched onto Lyn. But in her weakened state, all it did was leave the imprints of her fingers rather than cut skin.

"We should probably fix her shoulder," Kaien muttered.

"That _is_ the only reason I came here in the first place," Lyn added with a shake of her head.

Reaching down, Lyn slowly picked up Reneey, knowing that she couldn't do much damage by this point, and placed her gently on her stomach on the couch. Kaien came back then with a needle and thread, saying, "It has to be closed..."

He was about to do it himself, but Lyn snatched the suture needle before he could move. "I'll do that." She gave him a distrustful side glance and added, "You did disinfect these, right?" It was a pretty obvious thing, but... jeez, did this guy think about anything before doing it?

Kaien nodded as he watched Lyn close up the wound, which made Reneey whimper and mewl even more so. Many times she would get up just to get away from the pain.

"If you want, I can hold her down," Kaien offered.

"I think you've done enough, thanks," Lyn said curtly, holding Reneey's uninjured shoulder down with one hand and swallowing hard as another wave of thirst hit her from the proximity of the blood. To help with ignoring it, she continued to reprimand Kaien as a distraction. "You know, this would have been a heck of a lot simpler if you had just let me fix her shoulder _before_ turning her into a raging maniac."

Kaien shrugged. "Oops, wasn't thinking." He chuckled. "You know, you act like you're her older sister or something, yet she's tried to kill you... about four times?"

"Twice," Lyn corrected with a sideways glare.

Reneey let out a hiss when the needle dug into her skin and pulled again, letting out a shaky breath. "Lynni..." She had no idea what she was saying or why, she just said it.

Lyn froze for a second, then swallowed hard again and continued to work, now deciding that it would be a better plan to keep her mouth shut so she wouldn't taste blood on the air anymore and get this over with as soon as possible.

-----

Morning came, and Reneey was asleep. It was the only way to escape the pain. The day class would soon be coming out of their dormitories to class, which meant that Zero would come out soon enough, also. Kaien went to get him and bring him back, leaving Lyn alone with her thoughts and Reneey's sleeping form.

_Why... does she keep calling me that?_ she wondered with a deep frown. _It's almost like when I was a little girl, what Zero and Ichiru would call me... But I don't know her. I KNOW I don't know her. And if what Kaien says about that anklet is true, she's only here because it was her clan that put it on me. Of course, that's if I can believe ANYTHING he says._

She sighed and rested her chin on her forearm, which in turn was resting on her knee as she sat awkwardly on the edge of Kaien's desk. _Still... even though I don't know her... it feels like I should. Like someone I knew when I was so small I can't remember..._

Zero groaned from outside the door. "I swear if the headmaster makes me late again I'll do more than just kill him," he grumbled as he opened the door and stepped inside. However, the second he did, he froze and forgot to breathe for a second. His face went paler than before and his arms started to shake.

"W-wh-who a-are you!?" _It can't be Lyndotia; she was killed! It can't be!_

Lyn nearly fell off the desk in her sudden haste, but she wasn't moving toward Zero; she took two quick steps away from him. Her eyes, her expression, even her unguarded posture showed complete and utter shock. Of course, Kaien had said... But how could he not have been lying!? ... And now...

"Y-you... You... died..."


	3. BotherSister Hate Or Love?

Hello, peoples! So I have this idea for a little contest for all of you readers. So the contest is this: Who can draw the best scene from any of mine and Lyn's fanfics? In case you don't know them all, here they are:

We're Not In A Fanfic (Yu-Gi-Oh!)  
TV's Are Starting to Revolt (Yu Yu Hakusho)  
Eating Food From Bleach (Bleach, obviously)  
The Dark Shards (Inuyasha)  
Is Blood Thicker Than Water? (Vampire Knight)  
Shinigami, Fangirls, Detectives, Killers, Oh My! (Death Note)  
Wristbands (Naruto)  
Hellions Break Loose (Supernatural)  
and A World Apart (Final Fantasy 7) -- on Lyn's fanfiction account, if you haven't read it

What I mean by scenes is that you can draw Lyn getting mad at Reneey for cursing out Seto in We're Not in a Fanfic!, Hiei kidnapping Reneey and Lyn from TVs Are Starting to Revolt, or any other scene from any of our fanfics listed above.

Here's how you must enter: You send me a PM or an email (you can find it on my profile) with the LINK of your picture. It can be photobucket, deviantArt, whatever. AS LONG AS IT'S A LINK AND NOT A FILE!

Use this form:

Username:  
What story did you pick?:  
What characters are in it?:  
What's happening in the picture?:

The deadline is May 30th; the winner will be announced on June 10th.

AND THE PRIZE! (Insert flashing lights and all that pretty shiny stuff here)  
The winner will get a sneak peek into our upcoming Elfen Lied, Code Geass, Full Metal Alchemist, and Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfics as well as a special treat from each of us. I will do a dedicated AMV, and Lyn is too indecisive to decide on one thing so she's said she'll do a sketch, edit it with Paint Shop Pro if you want, random abstract on PSP, do a new humor avatar, make an AMV, write a oneshot -- basically it's your call. Yes that's right, folks! Six prizes for one little fanart! Think you're up to it!?

Second place will get to pick a prize from either me or Lyn and choose two of those four sneak peeks, so basically you get half the first place prize. And for third there will be an award of one sneak peek. And if you respond to our sneak peeks with comments, you'll get mentioned and/or quoted in the author's note of the first chapter of that fic when it's posted!!!

Oh and you might want to check out our deviantArt to see our stuff before you decide what you want for a prize -- Lyn's is LadyOfRandomness(dot)deviantart(dot)com and mine's ReneeyUmbra(dot)deviantart(dot)com so check us out!

---

"It's you," Zero said softly. But was it really her? Could it really be his little sister who he thought was killed by Shizuka? He had thought that everyone in his family was killed -- he had seen the blood, the dead bodies -- not Lyndotia's, but he knew she was there and that she had tried to run, but she was so small so how could she have survived alone? His fist clenched and his eyes shut tight for a minute. Given any other moment, he would have been concerned that there was a vampire hunter from the Umbra family nearby, but now he just hissed, "Are you really... her? Lyndotia? Or are you some vampire in disguise?"

Lyn swallowed hard, her eyes still wide and now looking almost... fearful? "She bit you." Lyn's voice soft and shaky, so different from her normal tone that the two were almost indistinguishable as having come from the same person. "You can't be alive. She killed Mom and Dad and she had you and there was no way you could have lived."

"I thought you were dead too; if this is some kind of joke..." Zero glared at the wall when all he really wanted to do was cross the room and hug her and never let go. But he had to be sure that she was the real Lyn, not some imposter, and an Umbra vampire hunter being in the same room did not help at all. For all he knew, "Lyndotia" could be a vampire hunter. He would have to test her.

And it soon became a game of questions, and whoever couldn't answer a question right would be revealed as a fake.

"When you were little, what did our brother and I used to call you?" Zero asked.

"Lyndi," Lyn said quietly. "Ichiru couldn't pronounce Lyndotia, so he shortened it and you started calling me that too." She paused for only a second before asking, "What did I call him? The nickname he always hated?"

Zero looked her dead in the eye. "Itchy. One day you and he got into a fight, you were so mad you started saying it in a sing-song voice and then every time he annoyed you, you always called him Itchy." He took a minute to think of his next question: "What kind of vampire attacked us?"

A small shudder shot up Lyn's spine but she swallowed hard and kept her jaw set stubbornly. Her voice was hoarse from strain as she said quietly, "A pureblood. Shizuka Hio." Her gaze hardened. "But that's a stupid question. Any vampire or hunter could play imposter and know the only way for this to happen. So why would you ask it?"

"What did I tell you to do?" Zero asked simply, his voice so quiet it was nearly a whisper. This was it; only Lyn would know what he said. This would prove if she was who she was claiming to be.

This time Lyn couldn't hide the tremor that still shook her whenever she thought of those last moments. "You told me to run," she whispered, keeping her fists clenched so her hands wouldn't shake. "You said to wait in the hollow and you would come find me. When it was safe." She breathed in slowly and in a nearly inaudible voice responded with her own dealbreaker question: "Why did you tell me to go to the hollow?"

"Because you were going to die, and I... was scared... so I told you to run... to the first place I could think of... and I thought Shizuka would go to the valley to look for you, not the cave because it was our code word, and I... I understand why you hate me, but please believe me, Lyndotia, I never meant to hurt you; I only wanted to protect you."

He chuckled darkly. "And now look? See what kind of big brother I am? I told you I would protect you and now..." He trailed off. He idn't even look to see if his sister was alive, it was too painful. He couldn't handle seeing his parents dead on the ground, so he ran. He had left his sister back there; it was no wonder Lyndotia hated him.

Lyn took a step toward him very cautiously. "You think... I hate you?"

"I didn't go back for you, I just ran from the sight! You were alive all this time, all alone and thinking that everyone you knew was dead, and it was my fault because I was a coward and I just ran! Of course I think you hate me! You were in pain because of me!" Zero exclaimed. He had never been so emotional since that incident but now, seeing her and remembering those emotions, it came pouring back out.

Lyn attempted a smile but it was pathetically weak and made her look like she was about to cry. "I didn't make it there anyway. I wasn't strong enough to run that far after she bit me. Halfway there things started going foggy and then I didn't know where I was going. Then I fell over a root and couldn't get up... for I don't remember how long." Swallowing hard, she skipped over the part in the middle because she knew he had been through the same thing and didn't want to remind him. "But when I did and I went to the hollow and you weren't there I told myself I had missed you and you were okay but had just lost me, and I kept doing that for a long time. And even when I finally admitted to myself that you must be gone, I still tried to keep thinking what you and Mom and Dad would have told me to do. You're not the one who hurt me, Zero; you're the one who kept me from going crazy."

In the flash of a second, Lyn was pulled into Zero's arms. After everything that had happened, she sometimes had a hard time remembering good times from her childhood, but she was pretty sure that even if she could remember them properly, this would still probably be the safest she had ever felt in her life.


	4. Touchy While Sleepy

A/N: Lyn: Dude, we live!

Reneey: Are you all? If so, prove it with reviews! :D

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**4. Touchy While Sleepy**

"You never told me you had a sister," Yuki said as she, Kaien and Zero met in his room since Kaien's office was already occupied by Lyndotia and Reneey.

"I thought she was dead," Zero said quietly, staring at the wall. "I still don't really understand..."

"But it's wonderful!" Yuki said, beaming. "When do I get to meet her?"

"Yuki," Kaien said slowly, "Lyndotia... was bitten too."

Yuki stared. "You mean... Zero's sister..."

Zero nodded, his jaw set tensely. "She's a vampire."

Yuki's eyes widened. "But..." Zero's hatred for vampires leaped into her mind and she gasped. "Zero -- you wouldn't...?"

Zero looked disgusted. "She's my baby sister! As long as she's still herself, it doesn't matter what else she is!"

"Okay, good," Yuki said, breathing a sigh.

"Still... I don't know how she _is_ still her," Zero said quietly. "That mark on her ankle was very recent; it didn't restrain her transformation like mine did. But it's been four years and she's still... _Lyndi_. She's sane and strong enough to keep from attacking the vampire hunter even with all that blood. I... don't even know if I could do that."

"She might have been affected by her age when she was bitten," Kaien said slowly but he looked like he doubted it. "It is _possible_ that because she was so young, her body adapted more easily..."

"She's only a year younger than me," Zero pointed out.

"She's also been out there all these years," Kaien continued to reason. "If she's like you, she would have fought just as hard to restrain herself... Maybe in her case, practice is working?"

"Have you ever known a case where a level D succeeded in restraint?" Zero asked derisively as if this was a stupid suggestion -- which in fact, it really was.

"Well, no," Kaien admitted sheepishly.

"Then there has to be something else," Zero said slowly, shaking his head. "I just don't know what."

"Maybe the Umbra girl can answer that," Kaien said softly. "She seems to have some curious sort of connection..."

"Regardless, we can't risk human lives by letting her around them... just in case," Zero said, thinking about his former sensei and the other hunters. They already often overlooked that fine line between level D and level E; he would not trust his sister's life to their judgment.

There was a knock at the door then and upon Kaien's bidding, the door opened and Lyn herself stepped in. Zero instinctively stepped in front of Yuki and Lyn frowned softly at the gesture.

"Now, I think you're being overprotective, Zero," Kaien said with a smile as he took Yuki's arm and pulled her out from behind Zero. "Yuki's my adopted daughter and I trust Lyndotia."

"No, don't worry about it," Lyn said quietly, her voice darker than before as she stepped back again. "I was only going to ask if there was someplace I could sleep now that dawn is breaking but never mind. I'm not wanted here either; I'll just go."

"That wasn't what I meant," Zero said quickly, sensing the way she had taken his actions and trying to remedy it, but Lyn interrupted him.

"Don't worry, I won't endanger your little girlfriend or any of the other humans here. I'll stay in the woods until nightfall and then after I speak with Reneey, you won't have to see me again."

"Lyndi --"

"Don't act like you're going to apologize, Zero," Lyn said and a faint, twisted sort of smile crossed her face as she turned away and walked back through the door. "I always knew how you would react. Doesn't even hurt as much as I thought it would."

Zero froze for a moment and by the time he defrosted, she was gone. Yuki reached for his arm but he was about to pull away until Kaien said quietly, "She's already gone, Zero. She'll be back to see Reneey Umbra -- you can apologize to her then."

Zero sighed softly. "She always was easily offended when she needed sleep..."

---

Lyn kept running until the trees became thick enough to block out enough sunlight that it no longer burned her eyes. Then, with a sigh, she slumped down against a thick tree trunk and closed her eyes. There was no point climbing a tree to avoid predators, after all; natural predators of humans would be frightened away by her scent.

However, vampires still had one predator to worry about.

"Well, well -- Lyndotia Kiryu. It's been a long time."

Lyn's eyes snapped open at the voice she still remembered very clearly from her childhood memories. "Yagari-sensei?"

Toga nodded from where he stood not ten feet away from her. How she hadn't heard him approaching, she had no idea. Did her senses really dull that much in the daylight when she was tired?

"How curious. I had no idea you were still alive. And still sane, it seems... At least for now."

Lyn sighed softly and hugged one leg to her chest, resting her chin on the knee. "I always knew it would be you who would come kill me. I guess I just never really expected it would be while I was still lucid enough to realize it."

"Relax, kid -- I'm not here to kill you," Toga said, shaking his head. "I suppose it can't be a coincidence that you're so close to Cross Academy?"

"Yes and no," Lyn replied, untensing a little and leaning back against the tree trunk again. "I just came from the school but I... didn't know about it, or Zero, until last night."

"Ah... That would explain why Cross never told us about you."

Lyn smiled faintly. "I almost came to see you, you know. When it happened."

Toga looked surprised. "Why is that?"

Lyn shrugged. "I was eleven. I was scared."

"I would have killed you."

Lyn's smile became sadder and darker. "I knew."

Toga frowned deeply and looked her up and down. "You have a mark from a hunter trying to restrain you but it's new. How did you survive alone?"

"I don't know," Lyn said softly, absentmindedly fingering the charm on the anklet she wore. "I... remembered some things. Basic survival. A lot of things you had taught us. The rules changed a lot when I did, though."

"So it would seem."

Lyn frowned at the expression on his face. "Whatever you think about me, sensei, I've never killed a human."

"That's quite a feat for a level D. I'm not sure I can believe it."

"Believe it or not, it's true. You know I'm not a liar. Though I suppose you aren't above believing that's changed."

The faintest of smiles tugged at the corner of Toga's lips. "A lot of things have changed."

Lyn chuckled. "You haven't."

"Hm. If you can still read me so well, perhaps I should kill you now and save myself the trouble of fighting an enemy who knows me when you're blood-crazed."

Lyn huffed and crossed her arms. "You always were mean."

"And you always were touchy when you were sleepy."

"It's not exactly my fault, you know," Lyn muttered softly, hugging her knee tighter as she fought her drooping eyelids.

Toga nodded. "I know, little one. That's the only reason I haven't killed you yet."

Lyn looked up to check his eye to see if he was serious or not but he turned and disappeared into the trees before she could tell.


	5. Cursed

A/N: Lyn: The only thing I have to say is... please wish me luck on my finals!!!

Reneey: Like you need it.

Lyn: Trust me... This time, I do.

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**5. Cursed**

Lyn woke as the sun was setting and yawned hugely, cracking her back but not bothering to get up until the sun had set completely. Twilight was her favorite time of day; the sun had finally died, the stars were coming out, and she had had a good day's rest so her energy was brimming.

She had been running for a few minutes when she remembered Zero and slowed. She didn't want to go back and see that look in his eyes again. Zero had hated vampires ever since that day Dr. Midori had fallen to level E and taken Yagari-sensei's eye. Lyn was one now. She had always known he would hate her for it but...

Sighing, she shook her head and picked up the pace. It wasn't like she would be staying here anyway. She would go see the Umbra hunter and then she would be gone and leave all of this behind her just like she had always done.

Lyn entered through the second story window to the hallway and knocked on the door to Kaien's office quietly, just in case the girl was still asleep. "It's me," she added as an afterthought.

Reneey slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed as she tried to get up was that her shoulder was in pain. She let out a low groan and slowly turned over -- looking outside the window, it was pitch black. _When did it get dark?_ Reneey wondered. Once again, Lyn knocked on the door.

"It's open," Reneey mumbled. "You can come in..."

The door opened and it took Reneey a couple of blinks to realize that it was Lyn as her vision slowly started to clear up. "Oh, hey... What's up?"

_Just what kind of question do you ask a vampire?_ Reneey wondered.

Lyn blinked. "Nothing that I am aware of." Closing the door, she came to stand beside the couch where Reneey lay. "Now, you owe me an explanation," she added in a halfway warning tone.

Reneey winced slightly at the tone; it wasn't one she was used to hearing.

"Why? You won't believe me anyway," she said meekly.

"Let me be the judge of that," Lyn said simply.

"Well... you're not you... I know you but not like you you... Like you're my best friend Lyndotia Elumo. You're human, not vampire..."

Lyn's jaw tightened. "I haven't been human for a long time and that was never my surname. Try again."

"See? I told you! The Lyn I know isn't you!"

"I see. You're totally insane, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not!" Reneey got up even though her shoulder was killing her. "I can even prove it to you!" She got out a locket from inside her shirt. It had half an angel wing on it with Lyn's picture and 'BEST' engraved on it. "You had one just like it only with a picture of me and the word 'friend'!"

Lyn stared and touched the locket with one finger. "... Why are my eyes green...?"

"Because that's the Lyn I know!" Reneey got out her cell phone which had pictures of her and Lyn at concerts, malls, movie theaters, doing all sorts of crazy things.

"... That's not me... She's... older... and my eyes aren't green... They were never green," Lyn mumbled but cold fingers of fear were tickling her spine. This couldn't be... It made no sense...

Reneey sighed and looked down. "Just never mind... I knew you wouldn't believe me... Just leave... You got your talk..."

But Lyn didn't let go of the locket, her gaze returning to it now and her voice going hoarse. "... It's not possible... This girl is human... I'm..."

Reneey sighed. "Whether you believe it or not... It doesn't matter... she's gone forever..." Reneey tried to blink away the tears that were threatening to fall.

"... I... I'm not... I can't be..." Lyn shook her head and met the girl's gaze. "I'm not human. I'm sorry. I can't go back to that. No one can."

"Just go... You said you would leave after you talked to me..."

Lyn swallowed hard and nodded. "Maybe that's for the best." Taking a deep breath, she stood up and left, closing the door behind her securely before leaning against it. It took her a moment to realize she had been forgetting to breathe. She felt almost sick to her stomach; this wasn't possible, it couldn't be. There was no way to go back and she should stop wishing for it.

It took Reneey a few seconds before it all finally hit her. The waterfalls came in and she threw the pillows across the room, her sobs echoing around the walls.

On the other side of the door, Lyn suddenly gripped her head in pain and then her eyes opened... and they were green again.

"Reneey?"

"I said go away! Hell, you even said you would leave!" Reneey was too busy sobbing to realize Lyn's voice had changed.

Completely confused by her surroundings and having no idea what was going on, Lyn only knew that Reneey was on the other side of the door, crying. So naturally her first instinct was to throw the door open and barge inside.

"What are you talking about? What happened? Where are we?"

Reneey blinked and looked up through her tears. "Your eyes... They're green... How?"

Lyn stared. "Well, you know, there's this funny thing called genetics... and my grandfather's eyes are green, so..."

"... What are we?" Reneey asked.

"Reneey, what the heck are you talking about?" Lyn demanded, putting her hands on her friend's shoulders and shaking her. "Am I delusional here? What the heck's going on?"

Reneey blinked then smiled and hugged her best friend. "It's you... it really is!"

Lyn looked confused but hugged back. "Of course it's me -- who else would it be?"

"Well, um..." Reneey let go of the hug and wiped away her tears. "I suppose you wanna know what's going on...?"

"Yeah, that would be appreciated," Lyn said with a nod, looking around strangely at her surroundings now that it seemed Reneey was okay.

"Well... we're in Vampire Knight and you're sort of a vampire... who's Zero's little sister... and well... you don't remember me or anything at all..."

"... Uh... What...?"

"Yeah... hon... Oh and apparently I'm a vampire hunter who killed a level E vampire and tried to kill you."

"... Wow... So I really am insane then," Lyn said with a forced laugh.

"You're not insane!" Reneey contradicted. "... At least, I don't think so... maybe I'm insane..."

"Then we're both hallucinating being in a manga!" Lyn concluded.

"I don't think we can both be hallucinating at the same time..."

"Well, how do you know? Are you a psychiatrist?"

"Well, I mean I never heard of such a thing... Hey, you took college psychology! You tell me!"

"One psychology class hardly makes me an expert," Lyn said, rolling her eyes.

Their argument was interrupted as Zero opened the door. He sighed heavily and began, "Look, Lyndi, I didn't mean --"

He then stopped dead mid-sentence and took a step back, reflexively drawing the Bloody Rose in shock. Was this some sort of trick? "Wh -- what in the world?!"

"Yeah... I think this needs an explanation," Reneey mumbled. "YO! HEADMASTER! GET YOUR ASS IN HERE!"

Lyn snickered until she had to lean against the wall for support before grinning at Reneey. "Is it bad that when you said that, I thought of Dumbledore?"

Zero didn't say anything, just kept the gun trained on them both. But... if what he was sensing was true... it wouldn't do him any good even if he wanted to pull the trigger.

Kaien came in and raised an eyebrow as the door closed behind him. "Oh dear... this is troublesome." He sighed, adding, "Well, Zero, put away that gun! They mean no harm!"

"What are you?" Zero hissed, putting the gun away but taking a step forward threateningly.

"... Uh... A really bad poet?" Lyn guessed, eyeing him skeptically. "The heck kind of question is that?"

Kaien looked intrigued. "Well... This is the strangest thing I have ever come across," he said, sounding perfectly cheerful. "Very strange... Well, Lyn, I guess you go back to being in the Day Class!"

Lyn blinked. "Uh... wha? Dude, I'm in college!"

"Well, then you'll just have to go here! We'll have the uniforms ready!" Kaien grinned and clapped.

"... Yeah... At least these uniforms are hotter than the ones at my old schools," Reneey said, shrugging.

"... So... No one can explain why Lyndotia is a human," Zero said slowly.

Lyn made a face. "Okay, no. Bad Zero. I do not do being called Lyndotia. It's Lyn. And you!" She pointed at Kaien. "What the heck are you on? I'm in my second year of college! This is a high school! With uniforms! I hate skirts!"

"Well, I guess you shouldn't be in the Day Class anyway... Since we don't know how you became human again, there's still a chance you might turn back into a vampire. Besides, vampires are smarter than humans so their high school classes would be more on your level! Plus, I already have the uniform!" Kaien clapped again, pulling the same white Night Class uniform he had tried to give her alter ego before from behind the desk. "Besides, it's almost as good as college!"

Zero took the ID and looked at it in confusion. "Why does this say your last name is Elumo...?"

"... So you want to stick me in a class with a bunch of vampires. Yes, that's a flawless plan," Lyn said, shaking her head before looking at Zero and saying in a this-is-obvious voice, "Uh, because it's my dad's last name. Isn't that usually how it works...?"

"But you're my little sister... Your last name should be Kiryu... I don't understand."

Lyn blinked, looking confused. "What are you talking about? I don't have a brother. I grew up with my grandparents."

"Like I said, Lynni... Zero's little sister," Reneey said, grumbling. "Anyway, it's like 5 or 7 PM... something like that... By the way, why do I have this?" She lifted up her leg to show the gem burned into her ankle.

"Oh right," Lyn said, looking back at Zero apologetically. "Well, I guess maybe that's true, but I don't remember it. Like I said, I just remember growing up in Tennessee with my grandparents. Sorry."

Then she tilted her head to one side and looked at Reneey's ankle. "No clue. Looks pretty cool though."

The plastic ID card in Zero's hand was suddenly crushed into tiny pieces, the broken edges stabbing into his hand, but he barely noticed. Just when he thought he had found one thing that had survived Shizuka's decimation...

Why was he so cursed that he couldn't even be allowed to keep his little sister?


	6. The Moon Dorm

A/N: Come on, somebody's still reading this, right? Pleeeaaasseee review!

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**6. The Moon Dorm**

"I still don't like this," Zero said through gritted teeth as he, Kaien, and Lyn walked toward the Moon Dormitory. Reneey had been left behind in Kaien's office so there would be no chance she would go spastic and try to attack anyone.

"It will be fine, Zero," Kaien said reassuringly. "The Night Class is in session right now -- no one will be in the Dorm so she'll be able to settle in without anyone to bother her and I can talk to Kaname as soon as classes are over."

"And if Kuran decides he doesn't care because she's my sister?" Zero asked with a glare.

Kaien shook his head. "No, I think he will be just as curious about how this happened as I am."

"Nice to know I'm a science project," Lyn muttered dryly.

Zero's gaze hardened. "He cannot tell the senate! If the vampires or the hunters find out, they'll treat her like a lab rat!"

"There's no way to keep it from him," Kaien said calmly. "I will ask that he and the others keep it a secret as long as they can but we both know the senate will hear about it eventually."

"I don't trust them," Zero growled and caught Lyn's gaze. "You shouldn't either."

Lyn snickered. "Trust, right. Because _that's_ always been my middle name."

A moment later, she bit her lip and seemed to feel a little guilty for her constantly sarcastic attitude, sighing heavily. "Look, I really am sorry I'm not who you want me to be, Zero... but I just don't do being treated like a little kid. The way I remember it, I took care of myself for seventeen years. I don't rely on people. I don't trust people. Too many of them just aren't worth it."

"That's not a bad lesson to learn," Zero said quietly. It would help keep her alive, especially around the Night Class... but he couldn't help wishing he could be an exception. It felt so wrong to know his little sister didn't even trust him.

Then a different word clicked in Zero's head and he blinked. "Wait, you're seventeen? How is that possible? _I'm_ seventeen, you're barely sixteen!"

Lyn shook her head. "I don't know. The closest I can figure is Reneey and I came from some sort of parallel reality. Although how that happened I haven't the faintest clue."

"... You speak kind of strangely now, you know that?" Zero observed.

The glare she shot him out of the corner of her eye was almost worthy of a vampire as she growled, "My accent is not 'strange.' I'm from Tennessee. Get used to it."

Zero fell silent then, at that moment realizing just how much he didn't want to get used to it. He had thought his sister was dead for so long but then when he had seen her... As stupid as it sounded, he had wanted her back so badly that now that she wasn't Lyndi anymore, it hurt as much as it had to lose her in the first place. And Zero didn't know how he was supposed to deal with that again.

"What are you doing here?"

Zero snapped out of his reverie to see Akatsuki Kain frowning at them from the doors of the Moon Dormitory. Bristling, Zero growled in response, "We could ask you the same thing. Why aren't you in class?"

Akatsuki shrugged. "Seiren and Ruka got upset about the Umbra hunter so Kaname-sama told Hanabusa and me to take turns watching the Dorm at night. Your turn."

"Lyn is going to be joining the Night Class," Kaien said with a smile. "We came to find her a room."

That was when Akatsuki really looked at Lyn and his golden eyes went wide. "What the hell?!"

"I take it he noticed," Lyn interjected, looking and sounding quite bored but secretly tensed for a reaction.

"She's human!" Akatsuki accused. "But she was a level D before, I saw her! How is that possible?!"

"We're not entirely sure," Kaien said with a smile but a sweatdrop on the side of his head.

"'Entirely sure'?" Lyn repeated with a roll of her eyes. "You have no freaking idea, you crazy old man!"

Zero stiffened and took a step in front of Lyn protectively as Akatsuki came closer with his eyes trained on her. "Come now, Kiryu," Akatsuki said with a frown. "I just want a closer look. I've never seen anything like this before."

"Glad to know I'm a zoo exhibit now," Lyn said sarcastically but stepped out from behind Zero anyway and fixed her gaze on Akatsuki. "You could at least call me by my name, you know."

"Oh, right. Lyndotia, I mean."

She growled. "It's _Lyn_."

Akatsuki smirked. "You think you could intimidate me as a vampire, much less now?"

Zero responded by pointing the Bloody Rose between Akatsuki's eyes. "_She_ doesn't have to. Pass on a message to your friends for me -- if my sister winds up with any puncture marks in her neck, I'm not going to bother finding out which one of you did it before I open fire."

Lyn glared and hit a pressure point on his arm that made his elbow buckle. "Jeez, you're as bad as my grandfather sitting on the porch cleaning his rifle when I went on my first date. Knock it off; you're not my father."

"You're still my little sister, Lyndi, whether you remember it or not," Zero said firmly but at least he put the gun away.

Lyn groaned. "Someone kill me now before I go psycho from being treated like an inept five-year-old." She paused and added, "But on the bright side, I have discovered that vampires still have pressure points, too!"

"Somehow I doubt that would work as well on anyone above level D," Akatsuki commented which just caused Lyn to grin hugely.

"... So can I try one?"

"One what?" Akatsuki asked warily.

"Can I see if pressure points work on you?" Lyn clarified, her grin only getting more impish.

"... How exactly would you do that?"

"Hrm... Just the simplest one, I guess. Give me your hand."

Akatsuki raised an eyebrow and looked at her for a second, evaluating the possibility of danger in this experiment. He apparently decided it was minimal because he slowly extended his hand, palm up, but he kept his eyes on her anyway.

"Um... should I really be allowing this?" Kaien wondered uncertainly.

"What's the worst she can do, break an arm?" Zero said with a shrug. "For him, it would heal in a day."

Lyn rolled her eyes as she reached for Akatsuki's hand. "O ye of little faith. Anyway, just let me know if this hurts a bit."

She tested the pressure point with one quick twisting motion and a little pressure from her thumb. Akatsuki instantly hissed through his teeth and doubled over, trying to take the strain off his arm. "Okay, it works!"

"Aha! Victory!" Lyn declared, releasing his arm and punching the air. Then she blinked and wondered aloud, "Wait, why am I so excited about this again?"

"Damn, what were you trying to do, break my wrist?" Akatsuki complained.

"Sorry about that," Lyn apologized but she was still grinning crookedly. "Caywood-sensei always did say I'm a lot stronger than you'd think from my size and pressure points work even without a lot of force. Plus they're a lot more effective on guys, too."

"Apparently also effective on pompous aristocrats," Zero muttered under his breath.

Before anybody could get annoyed at anybody else and start some kind of blood feud, Kaien quickly pushed Zero and Lyn toward the door and objected, "Okay, okay, let's find a room!"

"The girls' rooms are up that staircase," Akatsuki said, pointing, as they walked inside. "I think there's an empty room next to Seiren's..."

Lyn blinked. "Dang. I've seen state capitol buildings less elaborately decorated than this place."

Akatsuki shrugged. "Ruka and Rima went a little insane with it."

"... Yeah... This place is scary."

"Nobody's going to bother you," Akatsuki assured her.

"Huh?" Lyn looked at him in confusion and then laughed. "No, no -- not you all. The... elaborateness." She made a face. "Makes me think of ball gowns and ribbons and lace and frilly pink things."

"... That's... an interesting perspective," Akatsuki said slowly.

Zero sighed impatiently. "The _room_, Kain?" he reminded him. "I really don't want to still be standing here when the rest of your class comes in."

Akatsuki nodded and started to lead them up the stairs, muttering, "You're going to have some explaining to do when they find out there's a human girl in our dorm..."


End file.
